Slovak car sector posts record output in 2012

(BRATISLAVA) - Slovakia's auto sector posted record output of 900,000 vehicles in 2012, despite gloom in the European Union -- its key export market, the Slovak automotive industry association said Friday.

Slovakia, which joined the eurozone in 2009, hosts plants owned by the biggest European carmaker Volkswagen, South Korean Kia Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroen of France, which raised their combined output by 40 percent last year.

In 2011, Slovakia's car sector turned out 639,763 cars.

The Slovak auto sector is also expected to produce more than 900,000 cars this year, according to the automotive association.

But analysts in Bratislava note that even if car plants -- which reached their full operational capacity last year -- will continue to produce at maximum output, it will translate as zero growth this year.

The auto industry, which employs some 74,000 people in the eurozone country of 5.4 million, accounts for 39 percent of Slovakia's gross domestic product.

South Korean carmaker Kia Motors said earlier this week that it had raised output by 15 percent at its Slovak plant last year, assembling 292,000 cars.

Germany's Volkswagen and France's PSA Peugeot Citroen were set to publish their 2012 numbers in the upcoming weeks.

The European Commission expects this auto and electronics-based economy, driven by foreign demand notably from Germany, will grow by 2.0 percent this year, making it one of the eurozone's top performers after expanding by an estimated 2.6 percent in 2012.